It’s often baffling when artists who have only had a minimal number of hit singles choose to release Greatest Hits collections. The most recent example of this comes in the form of Love Sensuality Devotion, compiled by Michael Cretu, the mastermind behind Enigma, the German electronic act responsible for the crossover hits “Sadeness (Part I)” and “Return to Innocence” (from the multi-platinum MCMXC a.D. and The Cross of Changes, respectively) and almost single-handedly sparking pop-culture interest in Gregorian Chant. Aside from the two gold singles and one new track, LSD is a random grab-bag of tracks spanning Enigma’s four studio albums. Though 1991’s MCMXC a.D. spent an astonishing five years on Billboard’s Top 200, LSD naturally threatens to cannibalize sales of the act’s catalog (could “Knocking on Forbidden Doors” and “The Eyes of Truth” be lost forever?). And while there’s no doubt 1994’s “Age of Loneliness” should be considered one of their “greatest hits,” it pales in comparison to the track’s original incarnation, “Carly’s Song” from the film Sliver. Yet for those who missed 1996’s Le Roi Est Mort, Vive le Roi! and last year’s The Screen Behind the Mirror (each new Enigma release has sold half of its predecessor), LSD offers a club-savvy mix of “T.N.T. For the Brain” and the would-be hit “Gravity of Love,” featuring Ruth Ann of Olive. Both “Gravity” and the rock-tinged “Modern Crusaders” (another potential hit) sample Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” to amazing effect, further proof of Cretu’s ability to reflect his “memories of the future” through engaging dance music.
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